Woolmark Understood the Assignment
A masterclass on how not to be boring + an interview with Woolmark's Managing Director, John Roberts.
In a previous post, I talked about how boring and repetitive sustainable fashion messaging has become.
Too many companies get stuck recycling the same predictable narrative, completely missing the chance to engage consumers in a way that feels fresh and unique to their brand.
That’s why The Woolmark Company’s latest campaign, “Wear Wool, Not Waste” was such a refreshing change. A few weeks ago, they threw the predictable playbook out the window and delivered something hauntingly cool. (Pun intended)
Woolmark is a not-for-profit organization and a global authority on wool. For over 60 years, they’ve been involved in the wool industry, overseeing innovations and promoting wool as a natural, long-lasting, and recyclable material. They are also responsible for the Woolmark logo, a symbol widely recognized for representing quality wool products.
In their latest campaign, Woolmark released a cinematic film where discarded clothes come to life, running through a city like an apocalyptic scene straight out of a zombie movie.
It’s not your typical sustainability ad that bombards you with statistics or guilt trips you into reducing waste. Instead, this film grabs you right from the start, with disembodied clothes flooding the streets, stopping traffic, and leaving people scrambling for cover.
The campaign serves as a metaphor for the haunting presence of synthetic fabrics—nearly all of which still exist on the planet today, with the exception of those incinerated or recycled.
Woolmark uses this creative dystopian narrative to position wool as the sustainable alternative to these synthetics.
This approach is bold, visually captivating, and rooted in a core principle of consumer behavior psychology: curiosity.
Curiosity is a powerful motivator.
Research by Gruber et al. (2014) shows that curiosity activates the brain's reward system, enhancing learning and memory retention. This is so important for sustainability messaging, where the goal is not just to inform, but to spark lasting behavior change.
When people are curious, they pay more attention, which helps them better remember and understand the message. Woolmark leverages this insight, creating a narrative that piques curiosity and invites further exploration.
While curiosity alone may not create instant change, it opens the door for deeper engagement. Once curious, people are more likely to seek out information, reflect on their behaviors, and become more receptive to the message.
After seeing the film and campaign, I had so many questions:
Was consumer psychology a key consideration when developing this campaign?
Considering Woolmark doesn’t sell consumer-facing products, how does Woolmark measure the success of a creative campaign like this?
What key performance indicators do they focus on?
Why did they see value in investing in a resource-intensive campaign like this, especially given that consumer behavior rarely shifts overnight?
I reached out to the Woolmark team and chatted with John Roberts, CEO of Australian Wool Innovation and Managing Director of The Woolmark Company, to learn more about the creative process behind the campaign and how they approach sustainability, consumer behavior, and long-term impact.
Brittany Sierra: What inspired the decision to use a cinematic, zombie-themed narrative for the film campaign?
John Roberts: For this campaign we continue to target sustainably-minded consumers of fashion. We knew we needed one key message and one key visual. This worked well in phase one of the campaign (Wear Wool, Not Foss Fuel) and so we wanted to build on this. We know that wool can biodegrade. And research shows us that synthetics can last up to 200 years in landfill. It was this which led to the image of synthetic clothes haunting our planet and creating this powerful zombie-themed narrative. Wool makes up only 1% of the global fibre market share and we can easily be overlooked, we needed to make a bold statement that would capture attention so the cinematic style helped garner attention for this incredibly important message.
Brittany Sierra: Was consumer psychology a consideration when developing the film/campaign? If so, how did consumer psychology insights influence the creative process?
John Roberts: Yes, consumer psychology was a key consideration for this campaign, as it is for all our campaigns.
Woolmark ensures robust research is undertaken when working on a campaign strategy. Wear Wool, Not Waste is the sequel to Wear Wool, Not Fossil Fuel, with an objective to educate consumers on the impact of their purchase decisions, and highlight that choosing natural fibers, such as wool that can biodegradable, is a more planet-friendly choice that synthetics which will harm our planet for many years.
Research from the first phase of the campaign indicates that simply telling people that wool is natural or eco would not achieve this. Our audience already knew this and yet still bought synthetics.
Our research also told us that the real problem was that people weren’t making the connection between the clothes they bought, the fabric they were made of and the impact that that had on the planet. People don’t consider fabric impact as a criteria of choice.
In order for people to understand the benefit of wool, they had to understand the problem of other materials. And so we needed to present an emotional message to cut through to the consumer psyche, after all, consumers buy clothes based on the look and feel of them. Enter Wear Wool, Not Waste.
Brittany Sierra: What made the investment in this type of film worth it, especially considering that consumer behavior rarely shifts overnight?
John Roberts: Woolmark has long-term strategic goals and we work across the entire value chain to collectively accelerate towards nature positive. Through this campaign we hope to empower consumers to consider fibers when making a purchase. We will then continue to build on this, finding a balance between emotive storytelling backed by science and robust research. We believe nature is the key to a better future and wool offers a wonderful solution.
Woolmark’s campaign is a prime example of how creative storytelling, backed by insights into consumer psychology, can help shift perceptions and drive meaningful engagement. By blending fashion, sustainability, and emotional narratives, Woolmark taps into the core of human behavior—curiosity—while addressing the often overlooked impact of fabric choices.
Woolmark’s bold approach demonstrates that sparking curiosity and engaging emotions are crucial steps toward shifting consumer habits and bringing sustainability into the mainstream.
I’d love to hear your thoughts—What were your first thoughts when you watched the film? How does this campaign compare to others you've seen in the sustainable fashion space? Join the conversation and comment below!
🤓🧠 BS
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I saw this campaign a few weeks ago and I think it subconsciously influenced my Halloween costume idea (I’m going as a landfill full of textile waste 😅).
Agree 100% with you on the importance of consumer psychology & storytelling ! So much of sustainability marketing is boring and ineffective. I enjoyed reading the behind-the-scenes of this much more creative approach.